Apparatuses for controlling heat for rapid thermal processing of carbonaceous material and methods for the same

ABSTRACT

A rapid thermal processing system includes an inorganic heat carrier particles reheater coupled to an inorganic particle cooler. For example. inorganic heat carrier particles may be cooled in a shell and tube inorganic particle cooler by indirect heat exchange with a cooling medium. The cooled inorganic heat carrier particles may then be supplied to a reactor to transfer heat to carbonaceous material.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to apparatuses and methods forthermal processing of carbonaceous material, and more particularlyrelates to apparatuses and methods for controlling heat for rapidthermal processing of carbonaceous material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The processing of carbonaceous feedstocks (e.g. biomass) to producechemicals and/or fuels can be accomplished by fast (rapid or flash)pyrolysis. Fast pyrolysis is a generic term that encompasses variousmethods of rapidly imparting a relatively high temperature to feedstocksfor a very short time, and then rapidly reducing the temperature of theprimary products before chemical equilibrium can occur. Using thisapproach, the complex structures of carbonaceous feedstocks are brokeninto reactive chemical fragments, which are initially formed bydepolymerization and volatilization reactions. The non-equilibriumproducts are then preserved by rapidly reducing the temperature.

More recently, a rapid thermal process (RTP) has been developed forcarrying out fast pyrolysis of carbonaceous material. The RTP utilizesan upflow transport reactor and reheater arrangement, and makes use ofan inert inorganic solid particulate heat carrier (e.g. typically sand)to carry and transfer heat in the process. The RTP reactor provides anextremely rapid heating rate and excellent particle ablation of thecarbonaceous material, which is particularly well-suited for processingof biomass, as a result of direct turbulent contact between the heatedinorganic solid particulates and the carbonaceous material as they aremixed together and travel upward through the reactor. In particular, theheated inorganic solid particulates transfer heat to pyrolyze thecarbonaceous material forming char and gaseous products including highquality pyrolysis oil, which are removed from the reactor by a cyclone.The cyclone separates the gaseous products and solids (e.g. inorganicsolid particulates and char), and the solids are passed to the reheater.

The reheater is a vessel that burns the char into ash and reheats theinorganic solid particulates, which are then returned to the reactor forpyrolyzing more carbonaceous material. An oxygen-containing gas,typically air, is supplied to the reheater for burning the char. Theinorganic solid particulates and char are contained in the lower portionof the reheater and are fluidized by the air, forming a fluidizedbubbling bed also referred to as the dense phase. The reheater also hasa dilute phase that is above the dense phase and comprises primarilyflue gas, entrained inorganic solid particulates, and ash, which are thebyproducts formed from combusting the char with the air. The flue gas,entrained inorganic solid particulates, and ash are removed from thereheater to a separation device which separates a portion of solids fromthe flue gas.

Currently, higher capacity RTP arrangements are desired that are capableof handling carbonaceous feedstock rates of up to about 400 bone drymetric tons per day (BDMTPD) or higher compared to previously lowerfeedstock rates of less than about 100 BDMTPD. The increased capacityresults in more char being produced in the RTP reactor, and the RTPreheater and auxiliary equipment (e.g. cyclone, air blower, etc.) needto be larger in size to support the increased feedstock rate withoutproducing excessive heat from burning the additional char. Inparticular, many newer RTP reheaters require additional volume toaccommodate additional air supplied to the reheaters for cooling tocontrol the otherwise rising temperatures from burning the additionalchar, and can have sizes of up to about 12 meters (m) or greater indiameter and heights of up to about 25 m or greater. Unfortunately, thelarger sizes of these reheaters substantially increase the cost andcomplexity of shipping, installing, and operating the reheaters.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide apparatuses and methods forcontrolling heat for rapid thermal processing that can adequatelysupport higher carbonaceous feedstock rates without producing excessiveheat in the reheater from burning the additional char which may, forexample, exceed the design temperature of the equipment and limit thefeed capacity. Moreover, it is also desirable to provide apparatuses andmethods for controlling heat for rapid thermal processing withoutsubstantially increasing the cost and complexity of shipping,installing, and operating the reheaters. Furthermore, other desirablefeatures and characteristics of the present invention will becomeapparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention andthe appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsand this background of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Apparatuses and methods for controlling heat for rapid thermalprocessing of carbonaceous material are provided herein. In accordancewith an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for controlling heat forrapid thermal processing of carbonaceous material comprises a reactorand a reheater that is in fluid communication with the reactor toreceive inorganic heat carrier particles and char. The reheater isconfigured to form a fluidized bubbling bed that comprises anoxygen-containing gas, the inorganic heat carrier particles, and thechar. The reheater operates at combustion conditions effective to burnthe char into ash and heat the inorganic heat carrier particles to formheated inorganic particles. An inorganic particle cooler is in fluidcommunication with the reheater. The inorganic particle cooler comprisesa shell portion and a tube portion that is disposed in the shellportion. The inorganic particle cooler is configured such that the shellportion receives a portion of the heated inorganic particles and thetube portion receives a cooling medium for indirect heat exchange withthe portion of the heated inorganic particles to form partially-cooledheated inorganic particles that are fluidly communicated to thereheater.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus forcontrolling heat for rapid thermal processing of carbonaceous materialis provided. The apparatus comprises a reheater configured to contain afluidized bubbling bed that comprises an oxygen-containing gas,inorganic heat carrier particles, and char. The reheater operates atcombustion conditions effective to burn the char into ash and heat theinorganic heat carrier particles to form heated inorganic particles. Aninorganic particle cooler is in fluid communication with the reheater.The inorganic particle cooler comprises a shell portion and a tubeportion that is disposed in the shell portion. The inorganic particlecooler is configured such that the shell portion receives a firstportion of the heated inorganic particles and the tube portion receivesa cooling medium for indirect heat exchange with the first portion ofthe heated inorganic particles to form first partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles. The reheater and the inorganic particle cooler arecooperatively configured to combine the first partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles with a second portion of the heated inorganicparticles in the reheater to form second partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles. A reactor is in fluid communication with thereheater to receive the second partially-cooled heated inorganicparticles for rapid pyrolysis of the carbonaceous material.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, a method forcontrolling heat for rapid thermal processing of carbonaceous materialis provided. The method comprises the steps of combining anoxygen-containing gas, inorganic heat carrier particles, and char atcombustion conditions effective to burn the char into ash and heat theinorganic heat carrier particles to form heated inorganic particles.Heat from a first portion of the heated inorganic particles that isadvancing through a shell portion of an inorganic particle cooler isindirectly exchanged to a cooling medium that is advancing through atube portion of the inorganic particle cooler to form firstpartially-cooled heated inorganic particles. The first partially-cooledheated inorganic particles are combined with a second portion of theheated inorganic particles to form second partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described inconjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numeralsdenote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an apparatus for rapid thermalprocessing of carbonaceous material in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the apparatus depicted in FIG. 1including an inorganic particle cooler in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the inorganic particle cooler depicted inFIG. 2 along line 3-3; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the inorganic particle cooler depicted inFIG. 3 along line 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following Detailed Description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of theinvention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theorypresented in the preceding Background of the Invention or the followingDetailed Description.

Various embodiments contemplated herein relate to apparatuses andmethods for controlling heat for rapid thermal processing ofcarbonaceous material. Unlike the prior art, the exemplary embodimentstaught herein provide an apparatus comprising a reactor, a reheater thatis in fluid communication with the reactor, and an inorganic particlecooler that is in fluid communication with the reheater. The reactorrapidly pyrolyzes a carbonaceous feedstock with heated inorganicparticles to form pyrolysis gases and solids that include cooledinorganic heat carrier particles and char. A cyclone separates thepyrolysis gases from the solids. The reheater receives the solids andfluidizes the cooled inorganic heat carrier particles and char with anoxygen-containing gas to form a fluidized bubbling bed. The reheater isoperating at combustion conditions effective to burn the char into ashand reheat the cooled inorganic heat carrier particles to form heatedinorganic particles.

The inorganic particle cooler comprises a shell portion and a tubeportion that is disposed in the shell portion. In an exemplaryembodiment, a portion of the heated inorganic particles is fluidlycommunicated to the shell portion of the inorganic particle cooler and acooling medium is fluidly communicated to the tube portion. Some of theheat from the heated inorganic particles is indirectly exchanged withthe cooling medium to partially cool the heated inorganic particles,forming a heated cooling medium and first partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles. The heated cooling medium is removed from theinorganic particle cooler and can be used, for example, as part of theheat integration with the other equipment to optimize energyintegration. If the cooling medium is water for instance, thewater/steam production from the inorganic particle cooler can bereturned to a steam drum to recover net steam for further facilityusage. The first partially-cooled heated inorganic particles are fluidlycommunicated to the reheater and combined with the remaining portion ofthe heated inorganic particles to partially cool the heated inorganicparticles, forming second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles.The second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles are fluidlycommunicated to the reactor for continued rapid pyrolysis of thecarbonaceous feedstock. The inventors have found that partially coolingthe heated inorganic particles with the inorganic particle coolerfacilitates controlling the temperatures from excessively rising in thereheater even if the fluidized bubbling bed contains higher levels ofchar. Accordingly, the reheater does not require additional volume thatwould otherwise be needed to accommodate additional air for cooling tocontrol the reheater temperatures and therefore, the cost and complexityof shipping, installing, and operating the reheater is not substantiallyimpacted. The heated cooling medium can also be of further use tooptimize the heat integration of the unit.

Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic depiction of an apparatus 10 for rapidthermal processing of a carbonaceous material in accordance with anexemplary embodiment is provided. The apparatus 10 comprises an upflowtransport reactor 12, a reheater 14, and an inorganic particle cooler15. The reactor 12 is configured for achieving a relatively hightemperature within a minimum amount of time as well as providing arelatively short residence time at the high temperature to affect fastpyrolysis of a carbonaceous feedstock 20 (e.g. biomass including biomasswaste). The relatively high temperature is achieved in a lower portion16 of the reactor 12 using heated inorganic heat carrier particles 18(e.g., heated sand) that are supplied from the reheater 14 to drive thepyrolysis process.

As illustrated, the carbonaceous feedstock 20 is supplied to a feed bin22 where a reactor feed conveyor 24 introduces the carbonaceousfeedstock 20 to the lower portion 16 of the reactor 12. Preferably, thecarbonaceous feedstock 20 has been previously dried and has a moisturecontent of about 6 weight percent (wt. %) or less. A carrier gas 25,which can be a recirculation gas collected from a suitable locationalong the apparatus 10, is also introduced to the lower portion 16 ofthe reactor 12. The carrier gas 25 preferably contains less than about 1wt. % of oxygen, and more preferably, less than about 0.5 wt. % ofoxygen so that there is very little or no oxygen present thus minimizingor preventing oxidation and/or combustion of the carbonaceous feedstock20 in the reactor 12.

Rapid mixing of the heated inorganic heat carrier particles 18 and thecarbonaceous feedstock 20 occur in the lower portion 16 of the reactor12. As the mixture advances up the reactor 12 in turbulent flow with thecarrier gas 25, heat is transferred from the heated inorganic heatcarrier particles 18 to the carbonaceous feedstock 20. In an exemplaryembodiment, mixing and rapid heat transfer occurs within about 10% ofthe desired overall reactor resident time. Accordingly, the mixing timeis preferably less than about 0.1 seconds, and more preferably withinabout 0.015 to about 0.030 seconds. In an exemplary embodiment, thetemperature in the lower portion 16 of the reactor 12 is from about 600to about 780° C., and the heating rate of the carbonaceous feedstock 20is preferably about 1000° C. per second or greater. The use of sand orother suitable inorganic particulate as a solid heat carrier enhancesthe heat transfer because of the higher heat carrying capacity of theinorganic particles, and the ability of the inorganic particles tomechanically ablate the surface of the reacting carbonaceous material.

As the heated mixture is carried towards an upper portion 17 of thereactor 12 with the carrier gas 25, fast pyrolysis of the carbonaceousfeedstock 20 occurs. In an exemplary embodiment, the temperature in theupper portion 17 of the reactor 12 is from about 450 to about 600° C.The sand or other inorganic heat carrier particles and the carrier gas25, along with the product vapors 30 and char form a product stream 26that is carried out of the upper portion 17 of the reactor 12 to acyclone 28. The cyclone 28, preferably a reverse flow cyclone, removesthe solids 32, e.g., sand and char, from the product vapors 30, whichcomprise the carrier gas 25, non-condensible product gases and theprimary condensible vapor products. The product vapors 30 are removedfrom the cyclone 28 and passed to a Quench Tower (not shown), forexample, for rapid cooling or quenching to preserve the yields of thevaluable non-equilibrium products in the product vapors 30. The solids32 are removed from the cyclone 28 and passed to the reheater 14.

The reheater 14 receives an oxygen-containing gas 34, which is typicallyair. The solids 32 are contained in a lower portion 36 of the reheater14 and are fluidized by the oxygen-containing gas 34 from a gasdistributor 86 (see FIG. 2) to form a fluidized bubbling bed of char,inorganic heat carrier particles, and the oxygen-containing gas 34. Thereheater 14 is operating at combustion conditions to burn the char intoash and flue gas. The energy released from combustion of the charreheats the inorganic heat carrier particles to form heated inorganicparticles. In an exemplary embodiment, the heated inorganic particleshave a temperature of from about 600 to about 780° C.

The flue gas, entrained sand, and ash rise to the upper portion 37 ofthe reheater 14 and are carried out of the reheater 14 as an exhauststream 41 to a cyclone 43. The cyclone 43, preferably a reverse flowcyclone, removes the sand and ash from the flue gas. The flue gas ispassed along as a gas stream 51 for exhausting, subsequent processing,recirculation, or a combination thereof, and the sand and ash are passedalong as a solids-containing stream 49 for disposal or subsequentprocessing.

Referring also to FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment, a portion ofheated inorganic particles 38 is removed from the reheater 14 andintroduced to the inorganic particle cooler 15. As illustrated, theportion of heated inorganic particles 38 is removed from the lowerportion 36 of the reheater 14 and passed along a cooler inlet pipe 40through a plurality of bubble breaking gratings 39 to an exchangervessel 42. The bubble breaking gratings 39 break up any largerair-bubbles, for example, from the fluidized inorganic particles thatotherwise may be passed along countercurrent to the portion of heatedinorganic particles 38, back up to the bubbling bed at the lower portion36 of the reheater 14. Big bubbles in the fluidized bed affect thereheater's 14 performance and solid entrainment. The bubble breakinggratings 39 also serve as a screener to prevent bigger chunks ofmaterials, such as refractory from directly blocking or damaging thetube portion 45 and reducing the inorganic particle cooler capacity.

In an exemplary embodiment, the exchanger vessel 42 is configured as aheat exchanger and comprises a shell portion 44 and a tube portion 45that is disposed in the shell portion 44. Disposed on an inner surfaceof the shell portion 44 is a refractory lining 46 that directs theportion of heated inorganic particles 38 through the shell portion 44and into contact with the tube portion 45. The refractory lining 46 ispreferably made of an abrasion-resistant/insulation material to protectthe shell portion 44 from being damaged or overheating from thecontinuous flow of the abrasive heated inorganic particles. Downstreamfrom the tube portion 45 is an air distributor 48 that receives anairstream 50 (shown in FIG. 1) and distributes the airstream 50 into theexchanger vessel 42 to help fluidized and advance the portion of heatedinorganic particles 38 through the exchanger vessel 42.

The tube portion 45 of the exchanger vessel 42 receives a cooling medium52 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) for indirect heat exchange with the portionof heated inorganic particles 38 to form partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles 54 and a heated cooling medium 53. In an exemplaryembodiment, the partially-cooled heated inorganic particles 54 have atemperature of from about 500 to about 680° C. Preferably, the coolingmedium 52 is water and the heated cooling medium 53 compriseswater/steam that may be used elsewhere within the facility.Alternatively, the cooling medium 52 may be thermal oil or any otherthermally conductive fluid known to those skilled in the art.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in an exemplary embodiment, the exchangervessel 42 further comprises an exchanger head 56 that is in fluidcommunication with the tube portion 45. As illustrated, a plurality oftubes 58 are juxtaposed and extend outwardly from the exchanger head 56substantially along a horizontal plane. Each of the tubes 58 has anouter surface with one or more cooling fins 60 that can extend, forexample, radially or longitudinally outward from the outer surface. Thecooling fins 60 facilitate indirect heat exchange between the portion ofthe heated inorganic particles 38 advancing through the shell portion 44and the cooling medium 52 advancing through the tube portion 45.

The exchanger head 56 has an inlet 62 for receiving the cooling medium52 and an outlet 64 for removing the heated cooling medium 53 from theexchanger vessel 42. Each of the plurality of tubes 58 has an inner tubesection 66 and an outer tube section 68 that is disposed around theinner tube section 66. An outer channel 70 is formed between the innerand outer tube sections 66 and 68 and an inner channel 72 is formed inthe inner tube section 66. The exchanger head 56 and tube portion 45 areconfigured such that the cooling medium 52 is advanced through the outerchannel 70 for indirect heating with the portion of heated inorganicparticles 38, forming the partially-cooled heated inorganic particles 54and the heated cooling medium 53. The heated cooling medium 53 isadvanced through the inner channel 72 countercurrent to the coolingmedium 52 and removed from the exchanger head 56 through the outlet 64.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the partially-cooled heated inorganicparticles 54 are removed from the exchanger vessel 42 and passed along acooler standpipe 73. The cooler standpipe 73 has an expansionjoint-slide valve 74 for controlling the flow rate of thepartially-cooled heated inorganic particles 54. A lift riser 76 isdownstream from the exchanger vessel 42 and is fluidly coupled to thecooler standpipe 73 for receiving the partially-cooled heated inorganicparticles 54. Disposed in a lower portion 78 of the lift riser 76 is anair nozzle 80 that is configured to direct the partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles 54 through the lift riser 76 to an upper portion 82of the lift riser 76.

A sand-air distributor 84 is disposed in the reheater 14 above the gasdistributor 86 and is fluidly coupled to the lift-riser 76 to receivethe partially-cooled heated inorganic particles 54. The sand-airdistributor 84 is configured to distribute the partially-cooled heatedinorganic particles 54 in the reheater 14, preferably above the gasdistributor 86, to partially cool the remaining portion of the heatedinorganic particles and form the heated inorganic heat carrier particles18. Referring also to FIG. 1, in exemplary embodiment, the heatedinorganic heat carrier particles 18 have a temperature of from about 600to about 780° C. and are passed along to the reactor 12 for rapidlypyrolyzing additional carbonaceous material.

Accordingly, apparatuses and methods for controlling heat for rapidthermal processing of carbonaceous material have been described. Unlikethe prior art, the exemplary embodiments taught herein provide anapparatus comprising a reactor, a reheater, and an inorganic particlecooler. The reactor rapidly pyrolyzes a carbonaceous feedstock withheated inorganic particles to form pyrolysis oil and solids that includecooled inorganic heat carrier particles and char. The reheater receivesthe solids and fluidizes the cooled inorganic heat carrier particles andchar with an oxygen-containing gas to form a fluidized bubbling bed. Thereheater is operating at combustion conditions effective to burn thechar into ash and heat the cooled inorganic heat carrier particles toform heated inorganic particles. The inorganic particle cooler receivesa portion of the heated inorganic particles and removes some of the heatvia indirect exchange to form partially-cooled heated inorganicparticles that are combined with the remaining portion of the heatedinorganic particles to partially cool the heated inorganic particles. Ithas been found that partially cooling the heated inorganic particleswith the inorganic particle cooler facilitates controlling thetemperatures from excessively rising in the reheater even if thefluidized bubbling bed contains higher levels of char. Accordingly, thereheater does not require additional volume that would otherwise beneeded to accommodate additional air for cooling to control the reheatertemperatures and therefore, the cost and complexity of shipping,installing, and operating the reheater is not substantially impacted.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in theforegoing Detailed Description, it should be appreciated that a vastnumber of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that theexemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and arenot intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the foregoing Detailed Description willprovide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map forimplementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it beingunderstood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedClaims and their legal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling heat for rapid thermal processing of carbonaceous material, comprising: i) combusting char with an oxygen-containing gas in the presence of inorganic particles to form heated inorganic particles; ii) contacting a first portion of the heated inorganic particles with an exterior of at least one of a plurality of cooling tubes, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cooling tubes comprises: a) an outer tube comprising the exterior; b) an inner tube concentrically disposed within the outer tube; and c) an outer channel defined by the outer surface of the inner tube and the interior of said outer tube; iii) supplying cooling medium to the outer channel; iv) heating the cooling medium in the outer channel to partially cool the first portion of heated inorganic particles; and v) removing the heated cooling medium from an end of the inner tube.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereby the first portion of heated inorganic particles are partially-cooled to a temperature of from about 500 to about 680° C.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling medium comprises water.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the heating cooling medium comprises steam.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: combining the partially-cooled first portion of the heated inorganic particles with a second portion of the heated inorganic particles to form second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the heated inorganic particles are formed at a temperature of from about 600 to about 780° C.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles are formed at a temperature of from about 600 to about 780° C.
 8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: contacting the carbonaceous material with the second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles under rapid thermal processing conditions.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said first portion of the heated inorganic particles are advanced in a generally downward flow.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of cooling tubes are generally horizontal.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the heated cooling medium flows counter to the cooling medium.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the heated inorganic particles contacts the exterior of the plurality of cooling tubes in a cross-flow configuration.
 13. A method for controlling heat for rapid thermal processing of carbonaceous material, comprising: i) combusting char with an oxygen-containing gas in the presence of inorganic particles in a reheater to form heated inorganic particles; ii) advancing a generally downward flow of a first portion of the heated inorganic particles through a shell portion of an inorganic particle cooler into contact with an exterior of at least one of a plurality of generally horizontal cooling tubes disposed therein, wherein the at least one of the plurality of cooling tubes comprises: a) an outer tube comprising the exterior; b) an inner tube concentrically disposed within the outer tube; and c) an outer channel defined by the outer surface of the inner tube and the interior of said outer tube; iii) supplying cooling medium to the outer channel; iv) heating the cooling medium in the outer channel to partially cool the first portion of heated inorganic particles; v) removing the heated cooling medium from an end of the inner tube; vi) directing the partially-cooled first portion of heated inorganic particles with an air stream through a lift riser to a sand-air distributor positioned in the reheater above a gas distributor; and vii) distributing the air stream and the partially-cooled first portion of heated inorganic particles in the reheater, whereby a second portion of the heated inorganic particles present in the reheater is partially cooled.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the flow of said first portion of the heated inorganic particles is continuous.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the flow of said first portion of the heated inorganic particles is fluidized by a further air stream introduced in the inorganic particle cooler below the plurality of cooling tubes.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the flow of said first portion of the heated inorganic particles are introduced to the shell portion of the inorganic particle cooler through a cooler inlet pipe in fluid communication with the reheater, said cooler inlet pipe comprising a plurality of bubble breaking gratings.
 17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: viii) combining the partially-cooled first portion of the heated inorganic particles with the second portion of the heated inorganic particles to form second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles; and ix) contacting a carbonaceous material with the second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles to rapidly thermally process the carbonaceous material.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the cooling medium comprises water and the inorganic particles comprise sand.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the heating cooling medium comprises steam.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the second partially-cooled heated inorganic particles are formed at a temperature of from about 600 to about 780° C. 